The Kidnapped Hero Trilogy 3: Fragmentation
by rainingtearsofchocolate
Summary: Finale. A boy, held captive, hoping no one will save him. A monster, sadistic and cruel, ready to kill the innocent. A satyr, struggling to fulfill his duty and rescue his friend. A girl, desperate to save the one she loves before she is too late.
1. Obligation

***clears throat* Is this thing on? Hello? Can you all hear me? **

**AH! AH, OKAY! I get it, you can stop yelling at me now! Jeez! I'm sorry I woke your cat! :p *lowers volume***

**ANYWAY. We're here! Welcome to the start of _The Kidnapped Hero Trilogy: Fragmentation_! 8D We've got a long road ahead of us. I can't wait. :D I love my new headquarters. It's amazing, and so much more roomy. You should have seen the one I got for the last volume. It was practically a broom closet. :P But now it's niiiice and spacious. :D Oh, and by the way, this chapter required quite a bit of research. Interesting how although its existence was alluded to in _The Last Olympian_, the monster in this chapter was never actually seen or mentioned by name in the series. So that gives me room to improvise. xD**

**DISCLAIMER: If I owned the rights to PJO, would Scholastic let me do this? I kind of doubt it. I doubt they would let me let some monster from book one come back and slice our hero to pieces, then drive one hero insane and make another become depressed, and then use the slight gore reference in this chapter. No, Scholastic would look at me like I was nuts. Which I am. So no, guess I don't own rights. D:**

**So, without further ado, let us begin!**

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><p><strong>WARNING: YOU MUST READ THE FIRST AND SECOND INSTALLMENTS OF THIS TRILOGY BEFORE PROCEEDING. OTHERWISE, YOU WILL BE COMPLETELY LOST. Just thought I'd let you know if you're a newcomer. xD<strong>

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><p><em><strong>~THE KIDNAPPED HERO TRILOGY 3: FRAGMENTATION~<strong>_

_**I: Obligation**_

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><p><strong>{<span>DAY FOUR<span>}**

**GPOV:**

_Grover! Grover, can you hear me?_

"Ummgh … what?"

_Grover! Grover, say something!_

"Percy?"

_Yes! Oh, thank the gods. Tell me you've found Annabeth!_

Where was I?

Trees to my left. Street to my right.

Oh, gods … my _head_ … what the Hades happened to it?

_Annabeth_ … where was Annabeth?

Annabeth … my head …

Things slowly started to come back to me. She'd – she'd knocked me out!

_Grover?_

"Uh, yeah … Annabeth, she … she's gone."

_What? What do you mean? Oh, no –_

"Oh, no, not _that_ – but … she left. I had her … I was talking to her. But there's something wrong with her, Perc. She's losing it without you. She's kind of going crazy."

_Crazy? Like, worried?_

"No, like … crazy. Going insane."

_Annabeth? Going insane? You're not serious, are you? No, wait – that can wait. I have to tell her something NOW._

"But she's not here, Percy. She knocked me out and drove off."

_She's not still coming to find me, is she? Wait, she __**knocked you out**__?_

"Uh … yeah. We kind of had an argument. But yeah, she is. I'm sorry, Percy. But you should have seen her. Nothing could have stopped her. It was nuts."

_Oh, gods, no. This can't be happening. No!_

"Percy, what's wrong?"

_Echidna, she … she's going to make me kill Annabeth._

"_What?_ How?"

_She's going to leave, and when Annabeth comes, I have to kill her. If she comes back and I'm gone or Annabeth is alive, she'll go to camp again and kill everyone she can get to. You have to stop Annabeth, Grover!_

"But … how do I find her?"

_I don't care! Just do it! Drive a hundred miles per hour if you have to! Follow the road she probably would have taken. Catch up to her, and __**stop her**__. Whatever it takes! And whatever you do, __**don't go back to camp**__. It's not safe there anymore. Iris message Chiron. Maybe he'll know what to do._

"Okay. That, I can do."

_Thanks. If Annabeth never comes, Echidna's plan is ruined._

"Why does she want Annabeth dead?"

_To get to me. And it's working. She's been torturing me, Grover. Physically and mentally._

"Torturing? What do you mean?"

_Like, she's been cutting me up. Hurting me. But _–__

"_WHAT?_"

_But that's not important. Annabeth **cannot** get here, Grover. Please._

Not important? "Dude –"

_Please, Grover! Stop her!_

I grunted. Percy always was persistent. "You got it."

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><p><strong>APOV:<strong>

Percy. Percy. I had to get to Percy.

My hands were shaking on the wheel. I had to think about Percy. Otherwise –

_How could you DO that? You knocked out your friend and left him on the side of the road! You're horrible!_

The thought was killing me. I wasn't that crazy, was I?

Crazy.

Crazy.

_"I'm beginning to get a little worried about you."_

_"Seeing the state you're in, I don't know if it'd be wise for you to rush into a battle. I think you're getting a bit **_too_** desperate. You're starting to lose it."_

Grover thought I was insane.

_You **are** insane! _my mind shouted. I cringed. _And you heard what Grover said!_

_"Annabeth, Echidna's plan **_requires_** you to make it there. She **_wants_** you. She **_needs_** you. He doesn't know exactly what her plan is yet, but he knows that you're a key piece. If I go and you don't, she doesn't get you. She'll fail, and you can see him safely once we get back to camp."_

_He wants you to stay back! Percy doesn't want you to come!_

"I have to come," I said aloud. "I will rescue him."

_No! You know they're right. You know it!_

"NO!" I screamed. "_I'm saving Percy! That's **final**!_"

_What are you **becoming**?_

Tears spilled and began falling. The question swirled around in my head. I gripped the wheel more tightly.

_You're a monster,_ it told me. _You're nothing._

_Grover didn't want you – he wanted to go alone. Percy doesn't want you – he wants you to stay at camp._

_You're a failure, _it said. _You're nothing to them._

_Nothing ..._

A sound began to press at me like a dagger, the tip pushing against my skull, getting progressively more forceful, as the sharp pain it summoned grew. What was that? It was loud.

I tried to concentrate on it. My focus was scattered, my patience shot. Eventually I was able to tell ... it was a siren. Getting louder.

I glanced in the mirror. Cops! What did _they_ want?

They stayed on me. Was it me they were chasing?

I checked the speedometer. 112 miles per hour.

What, these police can't handle a little speed?

Groaning and grumbling, I pulled the truck over to the side of the road and hit the brake. I rolled down the window as an officer approached the car. He didn't look happy. "Do you know how _fast_ you were going?" he exclaimed before he had even reached the door.

I sighed. Oh, gods.

I cleared my throat. "Listen, officer ... I'm really sorry for speeding, but –"

"**_Speeding?_** Going seventy miles an hour above the limit is not speeding, madam – it's just insane! You're in loads of trouble now."

Great. This guy wasn't in a very good mood. He seemed rather furious.

_I can't afford this delay! I have to get out of here._

"Listen, sir, I'm sorry, but you –"

BA**DOOM**.

The cop's attention was suddenly diverted to the back of the truck; so was mine. From what we could see, no one was there. He looked baffled. "What the?"

Turning his head to me, he gave me a stern "You'd better stay put while I check this out, now;" when I nodded, he started slowly walking to the back of the truck. I heard him holler, "Hello?"

As soon as he couldn't see me anymore, I reached for the rear-view mirror and tried to get a good look at whatever had hit me. I couldn't see anything, so I just sat and tried to think of what to do. I could drive off now, but he must have gotten my licence plate number, right?

_Who cares?_ my mind asked. _Just drive. DRIVE. This'll be **fun**..._

Just when I was about to start moving –

"Aaagh! What is –?"

**ROAA–**

"_AH!_"

Screams came flying toward me, as well as the sound of – something. Something not human. The truck jolted once, twice. The screams became muffled, and then died out. Soon the other sounds ceased as well, and then silence reigned.

_What just happened?_

A monster, I knew.

_Probably another child of Echidna._

_Echidna._

_Echidna._

**_She took him ... She's the one that stole him ..._**

My breathing began to quicken. My hands started shaking on the steering wheel, where at some point they had begun gripping it tightly, so much so that I was starting to feel pain now that I had noticed them.

**_She took him from you ..._**

**_She's the one that started this._**

**_She's to blame._**

**_And her child is right outside this truck._**

I subconsciously reached for my dagger. I undid the seat belt. My eyes grew wild.

**_Kill the child ... Kill it ... Make her hurt._**

**_Take her loved one away from her, just as she did to you!_**

I threw open the door and leaped from the truck.

The cop was gone.

Knife ready, keeping flat against the truck, I slowly made my way to the back. When I whirled around the corner, I saw a quick flash of black feathers going around to the other side. I also saw a pair of feet. "Officer...?"

As I made my way around, I saw that the feet led to legs, which led to a body ... the body of the policeman. There was evidence that something was missing from inside him. I tried not to cringe at the sight.

I heard rustling. My head snapped to attention. Nothing.

"Show yourself!" I called.

A black wing stretched out from the other end of the car. It was huge.

Suddenly the thing stood at full height, and I saw how massive it truly was. It towered above me from the other side of the truck, four stories high at least, and its wingspan could have encompassed seven of my trucks lined in a row. Its feathers were jet black.

_The Caucasian Eagle,_ I recognized. _Aetos Kaukasios._

Its beak was bloody. Had it _eaten_ something from inside the cop?

...Never mind. I didn't want to know.

**_Kill it. Kill it. You killed Orthus, but that was not enough. KILL THE EAGLE!_**

I brandished my dagger, but instantly I knew I had a problem. Stabbing the thing might be difficult.

Its huge head came whizzing down. I barely had time to jump backwards out of the way before it slammed into the back of my truck. When it pulled away, there was a huge indent in the metal. I was glad it hadn't broken it.

It ducked its head down again, and its huge beak nearly caught me; I ran to the left, but I tripped before I could get very far.

The eagle lifted its head partly, then dove it down again. I rolled toward the truck, and it slammed its beak into the ground.

I stood quickly. Running to it, I managed to swing my knife forward into it successfully as it pulled away; as the monster pulled its head up, I held my dagger in place, enlarging the damage. I grinned maniacally as it cawed.

It snapped its head away from me, causing some ichor to fly through the air, and let loose a shrill cry.

_Uh oh._

_**...Kill the eagle?**_

A giant talon cut through the air directly in front of my face. The thing had nearly stepped on me.

**_Okay. Scratch that. GET IN THE CAR. GET IN THE CAR. GET IN THE CAR!_**

This time, I willingly obeyed the voice in my head. I threw the passenger's side door open and hopped in, sliding through to the driver's seat.

_Let's ride._

I slammed my foot down on the gas. The car lurched into motion, speeding away from the monster.

The eagle started running after me.

_Drive. Drive. Drive. Drive._

_Get out of there!_

But just when I thought it might catch up with me –

– it stopped.

The Caucasian Eagle stopped chasing me.

And then it flew away.

I watched in awe through my window. Where was it _going_?

**_It's running away! IT'S SCARED! KILL THE EAGLE!_**

But the eagle was flying in the opposite direction. I had to stay as focused as possible. I had to overcome this craziness.

I had to reach Percy.

Whatever the cost.

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><p><strong>First chapter done! 8D<strong>

**...And it's a day late. Shoot. Sorry, guys. :/**

**But, hey, it's 2:30 in the morning here. You'd better be glad I'm staying up this late to type it. ^^**

**Now, I think I'll get me some sleep and revise and post this in the morning. Knowing me, this late at night, half of what I've written will make no sense tomorrow. xD (And I was right, too. Here's an example: "The car lurched into motion, speeding away from the car." Hmm. Something tells me you might have a problem with that. _AAAAHHH! WHY DOES THE STUPID THING KEEP FOLLOWING ME? GEET AWAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!_ ...Hmm. Actually, I can just see Annabeth screaming her head off at the back of her truck, telling it to stop following her from the front of the truck. xDDD But I don't think she's quite that crazy yet. xD)**

**So, what else is there to say? Enjoy _Fragmentation_, read my new FictionPress poem ... yeah. That's it. xD**

**Well, byby. :D**


	2. Transformation

**Mwahahahaha. Take that, evil turkey.**

***turns to Mel* Well, what did you want me to put? That's what I do when I don't know how to start off. I write down what I'd just said. *shrugs***

**Anywhere, it's time for another chapter! 8D I realized I've been on this site for nearly a year. O.O At the end of this month, I'll be a year old! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY. I'M FINALLY TURNING ONE~!  
>...<strong>**Hmm. FanFiction says you have to be at least thirteen to be on here. And I haven't turned one yet. I might have a bit of a problem. xDDDD**

**...I need to stop writing these chapters late at night. You guys are starting to see my crazy side. O_O**

_**Crazy side? What, you have a normal side?**_

**SHUT UP, HARRISON. UGH, who let you off the forum, anyway? :O**

**DISCLAIMER: I own rights. Of _course_ I do. Would I be writing about the characters if I -**

_**He doesn't own rights.**_

**O.O _HARRISOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!_ }.{**

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><p><em><strong>~THE KIDNAPPED HERO TRILOGY 3: FRAGMENTATION~<strong>_

_**II: Transformation**_

_**{and thankfully for you guys, I decided to turn in for the night after that AN up there - now my writing will be a bit more normal, xDDD}**_

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><p><strong>{DAY FIVE}<strong>

**PPOV:**

I couldn't do this.

It felt like months since I'd seen anyone human.

My skin burned.

It was dark. Nearly complete blackness, the only light seeping from tiny cracks between the door and the floor.

I was alone.

I hated it.

I wanted somebody.

Anybody.

I needed food. I hadn't had any since camp. Hunger slowly carved away at me, leaving my stomach raw.

I kept my eyes open. I don't know why; there was nothing to see. But I kept them open, and I blinked, and I looked around, absorbing nothing but glad I could do something.

I hadn't stood since the previous day. My energy was spent trying to escape. Now my legs tingled from lack of use. When it got bad, I banged them against the wall a few times. It hurt horribly, but at least they weren't completely numb.

I felt hollow. Like a shell, an empty crust of who I had been. The hero in me was gone. If not disintegrated entirely, then it was buried under unmovable mounds of nothing. Piles of no hope and no feeling, of despair and numbness. Piles of nothing, yet they managed to eat away at me and crush me like heated metal.

There was no chance of escape anymore.

I could barely move; never mind _stand_.

I felt sick.

I was gone.

And my only hope was that my saviors would never arrive.

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><p><strong>{DAY SIX}<strong>

I no longer opened my eyes. There was no point.

I sat leaning against the wall, wanting to go back to sleep.

A part of me wanted to die.

The pain was unbearable. All my cuts and bruises that had never healed properly still stung. My head throbbed.

I knew Echidna would never let me go.

I was trapped forever.

I had no purpose anymore.

And a part of me wanted to die.

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><p><strong>{NIGHT SEVEN}<strong>

Any tears I had ever held back were gone.

I couldn't do this anymore.

I hadn't drunken anything since Echidna had left.

I was dying, and I knew it.

And I wanted it.

The door opened. Light flooded my dark prison. When I finally opened my eyes, the sudden brightness made me shut them again. Once I could see clearly, I observed the Chimera standing before me. A cup filled with water was at my side. Apparently all worry I would try to use it to attack was gone.

I saw the water. It wasn't much, but it would help with the horrible dryness I felt.

But I didn't want the water.

Water would sustain me. And I didn't want that, not when I was so close to death. So close to escape.

I looked the monster in the eye. I shook my head back and forth. No.

It grunted, then jerked its head toward the cup. I shook my head again.

The creature growled. It glared at me, telling me to drink it. I denied again.

The Chimera let out a loud noise in frustration. It used a paw to keep my head against the wall, then tilted its head and lifted the cup in its jaws. I tried to turn away, but I couldn't. I tried to say something, but my throat wouldn't work.

It pushed the cup against my lips and raised the angle. Much of the liquid spilled down my chin and onto my dirty clothing, but some found its way in. The water trickled in, and I would have coughed it back up, except my eager tongue and mouth absorbed it all before it even made it to my throat.

The monster then left me, but only for a few minutes; it then returned with another cup and repeated the process. I struggled, but my lack of energy worked to my disadvantage. I sealed my lips tightly to prevent any water from gaining access. Fed up, the monster dug a claw into my forehead; when I finally winced in the pain and my mouth opened slightly, it shoved the water inside. This round made it into my throat.

Then it left me and slammed the door shut again, leaving me more miserable than ever. I would have sobbed if I had any water up there yet. I didn't want to live. I wanted escape.

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><p><strong>{DAY EIGHT}<strong>

Hope was gone.

Hope was irrelevant.

I was alive.

And there was no escape.

_Wait_, I thought.

_There's always a way. You can do it._

Right away, I knew I couldn't choke myself. No one would have the willpower to succeed that way.

Would bashing my head against the wall enough times do it?

_Probably not_, I decided. _It would knock me out, but I'd never die unless someone else kept doing it._

_What would Mom say if she saw me like this?_ I wondered. _She would be horrified. At my thoughts. At what's happened to me. At what Echidna did to me. At the fact that I'm even in here._

_But Mom isn't here. No one is._

_You're alone._

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><p><strong>APOV:<strong>

_HAHA! YES!_

I was at the end of my instructions. I'd arrived in Powell.

I opened the car door and leaped from the interior, grinning in satisfaction. There was a strong wind blowing through the town, chilling the air and sending goose bumps down my back. The air was raw and dry. I stood on a road with houses lining either side of the street. The homes seemed average – not too large, white and brown walls, not over- or under-decorative. It seemed like a regular place.

If only these people knew what had been happening right under their noses.

I cackled. I'd made it!

_…Now what?_

I grabbed the ransom note from my car and read it over again.

"**YoUR FriEnD Is mINE nOw**

**iF yOU eVeR WaNT tO SeE HIm aGaIN,**

**COmE tO PoweLl, wYOMinG on tHE wiNTeR SoLstICe**

**And bRiNG a WEaPoN**

**GOoD lUcK – yOU'lL neEd iT.**"

I had my dagger, so I was fine on weapons.

It was the winter solstice.

I was in Powell.

So where was Percy?

That's when it hit me.

Powell was a big city.

And Percy could be anywhere.

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><p>As I drove around the city, I tried to think logically. I channeled what little focus I had left.<p>

_She wouldn't hide him anywhere with a lot of people. That just wouldn't make sense. It wouldn't be near places with people, either. It wouldn't be completely concealed; that's probably where she would expect me to look. So he's probably hidden in plain sight. Somewhere out in the open, yet still abandoned._

I drove around aimlessly, seeking a place like this. I came across a few empty shops and dilapidated buildings, but nothing was right.

My hunt became frantic. I started noticing many places in which he could be stashed. There were closed-down banks, decrepit houses with no owners, a tiny, rundown school, large patches of trees … there were too many places to search!

When passing the school again, I noticed something.

The front door was gone. Completely. There were ashes near the entrance that were scattered on one side, as if they'd been kicked away quickly in a hurry. As I got closer, I saw that there were still hinges attached to the wall.

I parked in the lot and approached the building. The hinges were blackened, as if they'd been burned. The wood around the frame was also singed.

The odd part was that the rest of the exterior of the school (which was actually just a single hallway) was fine. It was like someone had ignited the door deliberately and then put out the fire when the wood was gone. It looked recent, too. The damage appeared to be relatively new – within the past week, I guessed.

My eyes widened. I grinned. This had to be it. He had to be in there!

I laughed. This was too perfect! Echidna hadn't done a very good job of masking her crimes; it was almost as if she'd made it so that I could find Percy on _purpose_!

My cackles were abruptly cut short as something came back to me. I froze.

"_Echidna has a plan. She is depending on you coming to rescue him, so that she can fight you."_

_"__Annabeth, Echidna's plan **requires** you to make it there. She **wants** you. She **needs** you._"

Was Grover right? Was I walking into a trap?

**_WHO CARES? Percy is in that building! You're so close! GET IN THERE!_**

Yes. Who cared if there was a trap? _Percy_ was in there.

And I was ready to do anything to bring him back.**  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Hmm. That was interesting. xD I'd like to say that most of my writing isn't like that, but I'm not a liar. xD<strong>

**...Oh, who am I kidding? I'm a complete liar. xDDD**

**HAHAHA A CLIFFHANGER. I win. xD The next chapter will either be up near the end of August, or in a week. Not sure which yet. xD I'm very unpredictable in some ways. I'm also extremely predictable in others. xD**

**This chapter is shorter than my usual, I believe. Oops. Haha, well, I wanted to end it there. So deal with it and hope I get up my new one by next week. xDDD**

**So ... I believe I've said everything. I believe. Knowing me, though, I'll remember something in four hours and curse myself eternally. Until next chapter. But that's my problem. xDDD**

**So ... see you laaaaaaattteeeeerrrrrrr. :o**


	3. Reclamation

**YEEEESSSS! INTERNET! _AND_ SPARE TIME! WOOHOOOO!**

**...Ahem.**

**Sorry for the long wait, people! D: My power got knocked out by Hurricane Irene on the night I was going to write this, and it stayed out. It finally got back days later, but by then, school had started. Now it's the weekend, which means I have time to write at last! :D And when I came back, you know what I realized? I'D TURNED ONE. 8DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD**

**DISCLAIMER: Over the week, while my power was out, I somehow managed to blackmail Rick Riordan and Scholastic into giving me rights to the series through e-mails that somehow I was able to type and send without the Internet, then proceeded to wait for the power to return so I could post my story on some random Web site instead of getting it published in stores like a sane person. Yup. That's _exactly_ what happened. I also grew a pair of wings for each of my fingers, and my pet cow learned to skateboard and sing "Sweet Home Alabama" in the key of F. My pet cat also started leaving a rainbow trail wherever it went, and badgers starting popping out of the – wait. Why the heck am I chained to the bed?**

**Whatever. I'll tell you right now: This chapter will be big. Not necessarily long, but big. The one you've been waiting for. (Or, to be grammatically correct, the one for which you've been waiting.) Annabeth has reached Percy. Time to bust him out, no? Well ... that might be a problem for her. xD And I switch POV's a lot, so ... I don't think it'll really be that confusing, but it could be, so bear with me. xD Are you ready?**

**Then let's go.**

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><p><strong>...<strong>

**...*wonders if his dramatic moment worked* *hopes it did, but thinks it didn't***

***moves on anyway***

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><p><em><strong>~THE KIDNAPPED HERO TRILOGY 3: FRAGMENTATION~<br>**_

_**III: Reclamation**_

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><p><strong>{DAY EIGHT}<strong>

**PPOV:**

The sound hurt my ears.

My eyes opened in surprise. I slowly looked up. After two days of silence, the sudden noise was unexpected. Then it repeated. Again. Again.

But what was it?

I looked around my small area. Nothing much to make a sound in here, and it had sounded as if it was from outside.

Was the Chimera trying to do something out there?

My eyes widened. Not more water.

I wouldn't take more water. No.

But then I heard a curious grunt from the Chimera. It sounded like it had come from down the hall, in the opposite direction.

Was the noise from the front door? Outside the school? Was that even the direction of the exit? I couldn't remember.

But it continued to sound. It was getting progressively louder. Again and again.

I listened more closely, my hearing starting to come into focus.

It sounded like …

… _footsteps_.

* * *

><p><strong>APOV:<strong>

_Percy, here I come._

I took a step into the building. Nothing threatening happened. No traps sprung. Nothing. I grinned. This was going to be amazing.

I started slowly walking down the hallway. I tried to keep a watchful eye open, but I was elated. Percy was somewhere in this school. I was sure of it. And that was all I needed to know.

I chuckled, because the entire school was a single hallway, and I could see the exit from here. The perfect way to watch for potential rescuers. The perfect place to elude the curiosity of the public. This really was an excellent hiding spot.

For people who didn't know what to expect.

I continued to walk down the hall, peeking into the windows of the many classrooms lining the walls. All were dark. Most were bare; some had a table or two still remaining. All looked practically ancient.

"Percy?" I called softly.

He was here. He _had_ to be.

Somewhere in this dusty, old building, he was hearing my voice for the first time in days.

I could feel his excitement. (Or maybe it was only my own.) If it wasn't for potential danger, I would have been skipping down the hall, giggling in ecstasy and almost chanting his name repeatedly. I was finally about to find him.

It was finally about to end.

* * *

><p><strong>PPOV:<strong>

A voice. That had to have been a voice. The word was unintelligible from my position in the closet, but the sound had been there.

Someone was in the school!

I would have hopped to my feet and begun to pound on the door and scream if I wasn't so weak. But, confined to the floor, the closest thing I could do to this was let out a small yelp.

I almost wanted to cry again.

_Please._

_Please._

* * *

><p><strong>APOV:<strong>

I heard movement.

My eyes widened. A grin grew on my face. I felt my body beginning to shake.

Here we go.

This is it.

A classroom door opened at the end of the hall.

I felt my heart go numb for a second, as if it had missed a beat. _Here he comes!_

Through the doorway stepped the Chimera.

My spirits fell. My face hardened.

This monstrosity had taken him away.

It wasn't going to get away with it.

The body of a goat. The tail of a snake. The head of a fire-breathing lion with a mane coated with blood. I should have been scared. Horrified. I should have been trembling.

But I wasn't.

"You!" I called. The monster grunted.

This was the moment. This was when I was supposed to give a long, noble, cliché speech about life and how everything connected, but how I was destined to take back the boy hidden in the building.

I gulped.

"**Die, you beast.**"

I ran, pulling my dagger as I did. The Chimera watched me approach, faster, faster, carefully sizing me up.

_Why isn't it moving?_ I was almost to it. It wasn't reacting.

I let out a scream, then sliced at it. It whipped its head out of the way, then whirled its body around to behind me. I spun, before I heard it roar.

My eyes widened as I quickly shot to the floor. Flames flew over me. I rolled to the left before the heat could singe me. When I hit the concrete of the wall, I leaped to my feat and got my knife ready.

Suddenly, it was there! In a flash, the serpent was right at my face. I snapped my knees shut so that I went down, and I tried to swing at it, but I missed. Before it could strike again, I jumped out of there, into the middle of the corridor, and tried to put some distance between myself and the creature.

Pain! I yelped and reached for the source instinctively. The back of my right hand was red and raw, freshly burned. I cringed at the sight.

Then, _bam_! My sleeve was on fire! I tried to pat it out before it spread, ducking and running as I did so I wouldn't be hit again, but the pain stayed.

I turned, watching it from down the hall. How could I get close enough to stab the thing?

I couldn't.

I chucked my dagger at it like a spear. That was a terrible mistake, one which, looking back, I probably would not have made had my head been clear. The diamondback grabbed it with its mouth and chucked it to the other side of the school. It flew and hit one of the doors.

Then it came to me.

_The doors._

Riptide was somewhere in this school. I knew that.

Riptide was what I needed.

I knew keeping it in a room with a window simply wouldn't make sense, even by my standards, so that eliminated the classrooms. I ran for a closet door and threw it open. Empty. I grunted, then ran toward the next

Heat by my back! The Chimera shot another round of flames, missing me by less than inches. In a panic, I flew into the nearest room. It was bare, the concrete walls and scraped floors echoing all sounds, making the room feel smaller than it was. Entering was another of my mistakes; now I was cornered. Once I had turned around to leave, it was already there in the doorway.

I swallowed and took a few steps back. The monster slowly started walking into the room, confidence and satisfaction radiating from it; it knew it had won.

I shot a glance over my shoulder. Windows. A lot of them. What if I could –?

Catching movement from behind me, I threw myself to the ground as more fire erupted above me. Glass shattered, spraying down on the world outside like a bomb had gone off. I stood quickly, and jumped out the opened hole. I was outside, on the grass! Laughing gleefully and calling out my quick thanks for the beast's help, I darted for the left, toward the front door.

Then I froze. My knife was in the other direction.

Going back to take a peek through the broken window, I found that the Chimera had already gone to meet me. In which direction it would run, I didn't know, but I had to hope. I flew toward the back entrance and opened the door.

The snake's head flew at me. It had been waiting for me there! I screamed and snapped away, but one fang lightly grazed my arm, causing a small dot to open up. Without pausing to think about the pain I now felt and the poison that very possibly had just entered me, I dropped to the ground and slid underneath the Chimera, coming out the other side and breaking into a run.

Dodging more fire, I grabbed my dagger from its spot on the floor. Then I started opening all the closet doors, struggling not to be hit. One empty closet. The next was almost empty, but it contained a small table, atop which stood three water bottles. One was opened with the cap on the floor, and most of its contents were already gone.

Riptide lay capped on the table.

My heart leaped in relief. I reached in and grabbed the open bottle and pen.

When I turned, the lion's head was right behind me, mouth agape. Before I could react, fire shot at me. This time, when I tried to duck out of the way, I wasn't so lucky. I felt pain from above, and I realized that my hair had been caught. I splashed the water onto it, then chucked the bottle at the monster's face. Using the distraction to my advantage, I darted from the closet and slammed and locked the door behind me.

Racing away, I uncapped the pen just as I heard a loud crash behind me, and the sound of wood slamming heavily into the concrete floor. I whirled around, and the pen mutated into a celestial bronze sword as the Chimera stepped angrily from the closet.

I paused.

_Come and get me._

It let out a small roar before running toward me. The tail struck, but this time, I was completely prepared. I swung my arm up, and as I ducked away, the sword cut directly through the snake's neck, severing its head and sending it spinning down the hall before dropping lifelessly to the floor. The Chimera yelled and backed its end away from me, ichor spilling from the hole.

I grinned, and sliced through the air again. A large cut appeared in the side of its body.

It roared with ferocity and turned. I could see the light shining rebelliously in its eyes, surprised that I was holding my own. Then I saw confidence move in. What made it think it would win now?

Flames flew directly at my chest. My eyes went wide, and I tried to duck, but they hit my face and sent horrible pain everywhere. I hit the ground. It cawed and sprayed my body, covering me, enveloping me. I screamed.

It was everywhere. Pain. Fire. I twitched and curled into a ball. My mind was slowing down. Too much to bear.

With a final effort, I thrust out the sword. I felt pressure and a brief resistance before breaking through to something more. The fire suddenly stopped coming. I shakily opened my eyes, and saw that I had cut the monster very nearly in half. It screamed, and ichor flew.

I dropped the sword, and it clattered to the floor as the Chimera combusted into a pile of dust.

I had won.

I lay on the floor, currently unable to stand. The pain was agonizing, but there was a strange sense of satisfaction mixed in. I'd done it.

After an indeterminable amount of time passed, I attempted to stand. I was able to get to my feet, but after taking one step, the pain returned more sharply than before, and I fell against a wall. My shoulder felt as though it was being crushed.

Noticing the peeling, raw, bright red skin covering my body, I knew I had to be more careful. Using the wall for support, I slowly moved forward toward the next closet. When I reached it, I pushed myself away from the concrete to stand before the wooden blockade; the process caused a terrible hurt to fly up my body that was nearly unbearable.

It was too much.

I again felt my brain slowing, and my eyes began to blur as consciousness slipped away. I reached out and tenderly undid the lock, then pulled open the door before I crumpled.

* * *

><p><strong>PPOV:<strong>

I was terrified.

Sitting in my dark prison, listening to the sounds of battle from behind the walls, I quaked, fearing what was happening.

Time slid on, and after a short while, the sounds abruptly ceased entirely. The silence was more deafening than the fight had been.

_What if it's Annabeth? Grover said he would stop her. What if it's Grover? What if it's somebody else?_

_What if whoever it is was killed?_

I sat there in agony.

And then the door swung open.

I opened my eyes in surprise, and looked up in time to see a body in front of me fall to the floor.

I squinted in discomfort and waited for my eyes to adjust. When they finally did, I saw ... _light_. There was light. And the person on the ground ...

Blonde hair. Orange shirt.

_No._

Wincing, I pushed her over.

_No!_

I closed my eyes and silently cried. It had killed her. It had killed Annabeth.

Then I saw something that nearly stopped my heart. I saw her chest rise slightly. It then fell back down, and as I watched in bewilderment and shock, it slowly went back up.

She was alive!

But then I noticed the burns. They were everywhere, covering her. Her skin was red and blue, as well as other colors that were starting to form. She wouldn't live without help.

I struggled to get my mind to focus. If I'd been given water, there must be a stash somewhere in this school. I had to find it.

In the same manner as I had four days before, I wormed my way from the closet and down the hall. Some cuts reopened, and I felt fresh pain as my blood again began to stain the floors.

I noticed an open closet door, beside which was an empty water bottle. My eyes widened.

When I finally made it there, I spotted two new bottles on a table. I pulled on one of the legs, and it fell, bringing the bottles to me. After fumbling with the cap, I got one open.

_This is it. Water._

I actually smiled slightly as it ran over my fingers. I poured it across my body, and slowly, it closed the wounds and began to heal them. Moments later, the blood had retreated, and my skin was gaining its color back. The pain faded.

The bottle was gone, but I was new again.

I still felt dizzy – while a bottle had done most of the work, it wasn't enough to let me regain my full strength – but I managed to get to my feet with help from the doorknob. I took the last bottle of water and opened it, before walking back into the hall. It felt good to literally be back on my feet, although waves of nausea sickened my stomach.

I knelt down beside Annabeth and lightly laid a hand on her leg. Slowly, I poured the water on her body, and I watched her reform.

I suddenly felt exhausted. I needed more water, but there was none.

Before I drifted off to a deep sleep, I glimpsed what looked like a gigantic fox standing in the open entrance. It stared at me, before slowly walking away.

* * *

><p>The woman stood on the edge of a field, staring down at the innocent children that went about their daily lives beneath her. She could see them, but they could not see her. She waited for a sign, something to show her that she could leave this camp and let them be. But a part of her knew that this was unlikely.<p>

She waited for hours, standing, watching. She bore no fear.

Eventually, another woman joined her, but this one was different. Below its human face, this woman was a lion.

The watcher turned to look at the newcomer, relieved that it had finally come. She waited for the news.

The newcomer solemnly shook her head, then slinked away.

The watcher sighed. She had to admit she'd seen this coming. Such a shame to let all these innocent lives go to waste.

She stood for a few moments more before beginning the descent, upon the camp and upon the souls of so many that would never see her coming.

* * *

><p><strong>Did you think my last chapter was short? Well, if you did, this is compensation for it. xD<strong>

**I hope I did okay with the fight. I'm not very good at battle sequences. :/**

**So. THE CHIMERA IS DEAD. PERCY AND ANNABETH ARE HEALED AND TOGETHER. BUT ALL IS NOT WELL. DUN DUN DUN.**

**Where is Grover? Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about him. xD**

**...Sometimes I wonder if I amuse you guys, or just flat out annoy you. xDD**

**Well ... yeah. That be all. :D Sorry again for the long wait; hopefully, I'll have the next chapter up much more quickly. :D BYBY NOW. *vanishes***


	4. Consolation

**I know I've disappeared for quite a long time, and I apologize greatly for this. I know there is no excuse for this, and I am not going to try to trick you with a lame excuse. I haven't updated for nine months, and many of you, if not all, came to believe I had abandoned this story. And for a while, I had. However, I assure you, I am back. And the only way I see for me to offer any sort of redemption is to write.**

**I've gotten better, I must say. I don't know if I've reached "good" yet or if I will, but I'm better than I was. xD My assistant quit, understandably, so I must find a new one.**

**I aim to defeat this story by summer's end (Haha, Avatar reference. :D) (And not the blue people. -_-), and I think I can do it. Your reviews and PMs were what inspired me to return. I thank you for that. You are the best fans ever. So, I won't stall any longer -**

**- except for the DISCLAIMER: Even if I did own Percy Jackson, he'd have run away by now, I think. It wouldn't have been that hard, either. Now I'd have to wander the streets and the cities and the deserts and the forests, calling, "PERCY! PERCY! I'M BACK, AND I WANT TO OWN YOU AGAIN! PLEASE COME BACK TO MY BASEMENT!" Something tells me he wouldn't come back. D: Maybe the cops are the ones telling me that, as I'd probably get taken into custody eventually.**

**Anyway. To recap: Annabeth, the lunatic, has found Percy and slain the Chimera. Percy has healed his cuts and bruises and Annabeth's burns from the fight before collapsing. And then there was that ending ... but more on that later. Well, here we go!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~THE KIDNAPPED HERO TRILOGY 3: FRAGMENTATION~<strong>_

_**IV: Consolation**_

* * *

><p><strong>{<span>DAY EIGHT<span>}**

**PPOV:**

When I awoke, expecting complete darkness, the sight of the hallway and Annabeth before me came as a surprise. I sat up. My girlfriend was still asleep, which I could have predicted; I probably hadn't been out for very long, anyway. I had slept enough in the closet.

My head ached horribly, and I suddenly became aware of my desperate need for water. Though it contradicted my earlier attitude, I now felt a strong determination to survive and get back to camp. I guessed that was a good thing.

I knew if I could get outside and look around, I'd find water somewhere, but I couldn't leave Annabeth alone.

Before I could even decide what to do, I noticed Annabeth was moving.

She leapt to her feet and stood in front of me with her dagger out. Alarmed, I rose as well, and my eyes widened when I saw the look of terror on her face.

"**You're not real,**" she accused.

Hearing her voice for the first time, I realized something … it wasn't her voice. She sounded changed, rasped. And the look in her eyes – she always had a fierce look about her, but when she was with me, there was a softness to them, a friendliness that showed her competitiveness was accompanied by care and trust.

That was gone.

Her eyes were cold now, hiding behind fear and abuse. She had receded, and, though I never thought I'd say this about my girlfriend, she appeared almost animalistic.

Then her words sank in.

"A…Annabeth – it's me. Percy."

Her knife stayed in the air, wobbling like a trapeze artist teetering on the edge. It appeared her entire body was trembling slightly, a feature that was amplified in her unsupported, outstretched arm.

"Annabeth, listen to me. I'm here. You saved me."

She shook her head quickly, refusing to listen. "No! I saw you before – on the road – I talked to you – but you weren't real! You're not real!"

I took a step forward, lifting a hand, trying to calm her down. "Please, A –"

"_**Stay away from me!**_" She thrust forward her dagger and I lurched back.

"Annabeth, what –?"

I froze.

_There's something wrong with her, Perc. She's losing it without you. She's kind of going crazy._

I swallowed hard. I wouldn't let this happen.

"Percy…" she muttered, staring at me. "No. If I believe it, then … then you'll just disappear again and I'll be here alone."

Her knife hit the ground. "I can't be alone. I won't go back to being alone."

I watched as her eyes began to glisten and her right knee buckled, and she collapsed hard into a kneeling position. Sudden sobs racked her body as her hair fell and hid her face from view.

"_I can't … be alone … not again._"

I watched as my Annabeth deteriorated into a shuddering mass on the floor of a school we never attended.

Cautiously, I took a slow step forward. Then another. When I saw that her offense was gone entirely, I knelt before her and laid a hand on her shoulder; she jerked back instantly in surprise and looked up to see me.

I watched as her broken, gray eyes let down their guard, and she threw herself forward and clung to me. I wrapped my arms around her and held her closely as her sobs continued for a different reason, and listened as they began to die down and finally cease.

We stayed like that for moments more. Suddenly something occurred to me, and I began to say with a grin, "Lying on the floor … you found me …"

Annabeth pulled back and slapped me on the arm. "You are _not_ about to start singing that."

My grin widened, and after a moment of silence, we burst into laughter. It was badly needed for both of us – it was the first time I had laughed in days – but it didn't last long.

"Annabeth," I said. "Echidna left me here on purpose. It was a trap."

Her features darkened as if her worst fear had been confirmed.

"She wanted me to … to … she said that if you freed me, she'd attack the camp. We have to get back there."

Annabeth quickly got to her feet and extended a hand to me; I took it. "Grover warned me about something like that. I don't really remember all of it. I can't believe I didn't listen to him."

"Hey, we're together now because you didn't listen," I reminded her, keeping my hand in hers even after I had stood and we had started running from the building. "Still, he's on his way here now. Who knows how close he is?"

"If we're going back, we might run into him." We were out the door.

"Yeah, but there's no guaranteeing we'll take the same roads. And even if we do, it's not like we can pull over on the highway to chat."

"Yeah, well, I found him once, didn't I?"

Annabeth ran to the driver's side door. I watched nervously. "Um, you sure you don't want me to drive?"

She stopped in the middle of opening the door and stepped back slightly, embarrassed. "Yeah, maybe you should for now," she muttered awkwardly, and we changed sides. We both hopped into the truck and closed our doors.

"I could try to get him on the empathy link before we go," I said.

She stared at me. "Uh, Seaweed Brain? Don't you think it's a bad idea to do that while someone's driving? Trust me, I shot him an Iris message while he was on the road a few days ago and he nearly crashed the car."

"Oh. Right." I grinned despite myself; it was good to hear even the nickname _Seaweed Brain_ again.

Then I blinked, and turned to her. "Do you have the key?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry." She reached for her pocket and stuck her hand inside; when it came back out, the key was there. "It's a miracle I didn't lose it in that place."

I took the key and put it in the ignition, and I was about to turn it when I stopped. I looked at Annabeth again.

"What?" she asked.

I reached out and grabbed the back of her head, then leaned toward her and firmly kissed her. After a few seconds, I let her go, and said, "I've missed doing that."

Then I turned the key and started to drive.

* * *

><p>After barely twenty minutes, we ran into Grover.<p>

Literally. The road was an empty narrow two-way just outside the town, and Grover was going so fast, we barely saw him before he was swerving to avoid us and skidding uncontrollably at a diagonal down the road. We hit the back of his car before I had time to brake.

We both pulled over on his side of the road. Annabeth and I exchanged looks before hopping out of the truck.

Grover looked shaken and horrified as he came to approach the driver he'd nearly killed. "I'm so sorry, I didn't –"

He froze when he saw it was us.

"Percy! You're okay! Thank the gods you're all right! And Annabeth!" The excitement vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "…Oh. Hi, Annabeth."

He looked at me with despair. "I'm so sorry, Percy! I swear, I tried to stop her! I drove as fast as I could to get there and intercept her –"

"I can see that," I remarked.

"Well, if I remember correctly, you were the one who said I could go a hundred miles per hour if I needed," Grover retorted.

"As much as I love this little reunion, we need to get moving again," Annabeth said from beside me. "We can chat on the way."

I nodded, and Grover looked over his shoulder at his smashed car. "It's going to look a little weird if I drive that," he noted.

"Then come with us, and leave it here," I told him, already running back to the truck. "We have to get back to camp."

"Leave a stolen car half-destroyed on the side of the road? _Who does that?_" But he followed us anyway, opening his door and climbing into the backseat.

I flattened the gas pedal, and we zoomed back into our lane and down the road.

* * *

><p>"Annabeth, don't you have something to say to Grover?" I asked with a half-mocking tone.<p>

She sighed. "Grover, I'm sorry I knocked you out with a stick," Annabeth said to the satyr over her shoulder from the passenger's seat.

Grover's ears turned red and he cracked a smile. "It's okay. Just don't do it again," he said with a laugh.

It was an hour later. Earlier we had pulled over to a 7-Eleven to get water; I was the only one to enter the store, seeing as how the others were both wanted for carjacking. I bought a few snack bags and spent the rest of what I could afford on water bottles with the money Grover gave me (I didn't ask him how he got it; I was just grateful for it.). Once I got back to the truck, we each took a bag and a bottle and tossed the rest in the back to save for later in the trip; I took an extra bottle just to use for the strength it gave me.

We all swapped stories during the ride. Annabeth went first, and Grover assisted the parts he was in. Then he filled in the gaps of what happened before they met up on the road, and what happened after I had contacted him.

"I sent an Iris message to Chiron at camp," he told us. "I told him everything that's been happening. He has the camp on alert, and he's told the campers that Echidna plans to break in. He says it's not safe to Iris message him again until we're really close; then we should contact him so he can allow our way in."

"If she hasn't attacked by then," I muttered.

He gave me a worried look. "He said he was closing the boundaries; no one gets in or out. He has some of the centaurs as guards."

"Do you think a couple centaurs will stop her?"

He gulped. "After I talked to him, I kept driving toward Powell. I didn't sleep much until last night, when I finally checked into a hotel. The rest of the nights I just pulled into some parking lot, napped a few hours, and kept going. Though for such unchallenging straight lines, highways are really exhausting."

"It's because your brain is forced to concentrate on such a boring task nonstop; a really confusing road would have kept your energy going a lot longer," Annabeth commented.

When dusk finally came, I decided we all needed a night of rest. We found the hotel with the cheapest three-bed rooms, the Chare Jimerk, and settled in.

Grover fell asleep instantly. "He really was exhausted," I commented to Annabeth, and we laughed quietly.

Our beds were adjacent, and for a while we kept the light on and talked quietly to each other. Neither one of us could sleep.

"What do you think is going to happen when we get back to Camp Half-Blood?" she asked me.

"I don't know," I responded, and I didn't. But I knew it wouldn't be the same.

When I saw she was getting sleepy, I got out from the covers of the comfortable hotel bed and walked the few feet to hers. She smiled as I stroked her hair, and she leaned up to kiss me.

"Good night," I whispered, and she lay back down. As I returned to my own bed, she returned the phrase, before soon falling into a deep sleep.

A good night. For once, even with the impending doom of the camp and its inhabitants, I knew it would be.

* * *

><p>The woman smiled down at the boy. "You have been much help to me, fine demigod. I thank you for your service."<p>

The boy smiled back at her, ready to serve her cause.

"Unfortunately," the woman continued, "demigods are notorious for being traitorous fools. Simply by listening to these words I speak, you're betraying your own kind, and I do not doubt your potential to turn back. I am sorry; we could have been a good team."

Before the boy could reply, his throat had been slit and his life was gone.

The woman smiled as she moved the body of the teenager. When she was finished and retreated into darkness, she smiled still.

She was not sorry.

* * *

><p><strong>And on that note -<strong>

**This is unedited, but it's late (after midnight Saturday night) and I really want to get this out there, so I'll edit it and likely make changes in the morning. Oh, and as a heads up, the story's rating will be changed to M after a chapter or two; this is because of future violence that I won't yet spoil. xD**

**Chapter five the night of Sunday the 24th if I'm lucky, Monday the 25th if I'm not, Tuesday the 26th if I'm very unlucky.**

**TTFN - ta-ta for now!**


	5. Infiltration

**Darn, I guess I'm unlucky. :/ But hey, I kept my promise. :D**

**WHAT? NO, GET AWAY, DOG. PLEASE. UGGGH.**

**My dog is sitting on me. D: WHY DO YOU DO THIS DO ME YOU MANGY MUTT?**

**Okay, well. Anyway. This chapter brings us our first look into camp in a long time. A couple questions will be answered, and a lot more will be raised. :D I feel like this one raises the stakes a lot more. We finally realize what we're truly in for, and that things certainly aren't over yet. I'm proud of this one, kind of, even if it is a bit of a filler. :) Ooh, and remember when we met Malcolm in _Desperation_ and barely anyone remembered him? xD Well, for some of you, there will be a few more campers like that today. xD**

**DISCLAIMER: After reading the preview chapter for _The Mark of Athena _(and being upset that it was practically a recap of book one and the end of book two, but being happy we FINALLY get some APOV in there), I noticed that Annabeth was not nearly as off her rocker as I hoped she'd have become. I guess that means Scholastic is against the general idea. xD But then again, Chris Rodriguez went insane in the first series ... 8D But he wasn't a main character. xDD So I don't think Scholastic would give me the rights. Oh, well. D: But I'll think of a way. 8DD_  
><em>**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~THE KIDNAPPED HERO TRILOGY 3: FRAGMENTATION~<strong>_

_**V: Infiltration**_

* * *

><p><strong>{<span>NIGHT EIGHT<span>}**

I dreamed I was standing in Camp Half-Blood.

Chiron was before me, speaking with Connor Stoll, whose normally bright and mischievous features were contorted in apparent worry and distress. It wasn't a sign I liked. Chiron was in full centaur form, and Connor's camp shirt had smudges of dirt across it.

"Where did you see this?" Chiron was asking.

"In the woods, but –"

"Oh, well, what makes you think it was anything out of the ordinary, then?"

Connor said with a slightly shaky voice: "It was dragging a camper by the leg."

Chiron stood straighter in alarm. "_What?_"

"Yeah, it was holding his ankle and dragging him through the woods. I was far away, so I couldn't tell who it was, but it was a boy. He looked tall, but it was a bad angle."

Chiron nodded. "Was he fighting back?"

"No," Connor told the director with a small shake of the head. "He almost looked unconscious." I noticed Connor's hand tighten into a fist briefly before relaxing again at his side.

Chiron noticed it, too. "There's something you're not telling me. You seem tense, worried."

"Well, yeah, what _else_ am I supposed to feel like, with Echidna on the loose?" the camper burst.

"I'm aware of the fear all the campers share, Connor, but remember that she hasn't come for us yet. Our boundaries have remained secure. You know that. And you seem to be more scared than you're attempting to let on; I can tell there's another detail you've left out."

Connor swallowed hard. "The thing is, Chiron … I thought he looked like –"

"Hey, Chiron!" Katie Gardner approached quickly, tailed by Clarisse La Rue. "Have you seen my sister, Miranda? I can't find her anywhere."

"Chris is gone, too," Clarisse added roughly.

Katie nodded and explained, "I looked everywhere, and when I realized Clarisse's boyfriend is missing, too, I thought we should come to you." Clarisse grunted as if she'd had other plans, but otherwise stayed quiet.

Chiron tried to remain stolid and calm, but I could sense his hold breaking. "I'll assemble all the campers in the dining hall. Our friends may be in danger."

The dream shifted. The setting was a simple field of slightly tall grass and weeds with no end in sight; the breeze caused it to look like a wave of plants.

Among the blades of greenery were monsters that sent a jolt down my dream self's spine.

There were creatures I recognized, including a massive dragon of some sort, the Nemean lion, a few hellhounds, and Scylla from the Sea of Monsters, being rolled along by another monster on a cart that could have come straight from a Walmart unloading dock. Others were monsters I'd never seen before, such as a gigantic eagle and an equally disproportionate fox. There were even more, more than I wanted to count. It looked like a parade, except they were most likely all marching to murder us. A parade of death.

Looking at the fox more closely, I realized it was the same thing I had seen before blacking out at the school when Annabeth came. So I had been right, I realized.

"Echidna has been successful so far!" the fox shouted from the head of the parade. "Now we shall join our mother and aid her in her quest!" Various cries of enthusiasm came up from the party.

I awoke then, the image burned into my head, and I finally knew what we were truly up against.

Grover was already awake, to my surprise, and he was preparing our supplies for the ride. He paused when he noticed I was up. "Oh, hey, Percy! Shoot, I didn't wake you, did I?"

I shook my head. "Even if you had, it'd be a good thing. I'd had enough of that dream."

He turned to me, eyes now wide. "You had a dream? Did you see the camp?"

"_Shhh_," I whispered and nodded slightly to my left, where Annabeth still slept. His ears reddened slightly and he sat on my bed so we could talk more quietly.

"Yes," I told him, and I could see his excitement build. It withered into dismay and then fear as I told him what I'd seen.

"Do you think –" He gasped. "Do you think Echidna's going around … uh …."

"…Killing campers?" I finished. I'd grown more comfortable than ever using the word during the experience. Grover gulped and nodded. "I don't know," I confessed. "It's possible, but this seems too … subtle. She told me she'd just go commando and kill everyone she saw right away until they got her, but that's not what she's doing. I feel like she changed her plan entirely, or she lied before. And then there's the other thing I saw."

"What?" Grover asked, scared of what it could be. By the time I'd described every monster I'd seen and could remember, he looked like he was about to fall off the bed.

"That eagle is the Caucasian eagle, Ethon," he informed me shakily, "and the fox sounds like … oh, gods. It sounds like the Teumessian fox."

I stared in horror. "Isn't that the thing that –"

"It went around the Greek city Thebes, terrorizing everyone there and causing everyone to freak out. Amphitryon was tasked with capturing it, but the thing is the fox's power is to never be caught. Nothing can ever catch it."

When Grover saw my face, he nodded grimly and continued: "So Amphitryon realizes, 'Hey, we've got this dog Laelaps, and it has the power to catch anything it goes after. That oughta do it.' So he lets the dog loose and sends it after the fox. But in a battle between something that catches everything and something that can't be caught, who wins?"

"…Nobody?" I guessed.

"Exactly," Grover confirmed. "Zeus realizes there's this mass contradiction here, and he has no idea what's going to happen. So he just turns both monsters to stone and that's the end of it."

I chuckled a bit. "Well, that's one way to solve it."

"The monsters were destined to stay stoned forever." Grover was about to continue but then realized the utter awkwardness of what he had just said, and he shook his head vigorously. "You know what I meant," he said spitefully as I laughed at his mistake.

"_Anyway_, Zeus turned them into stone so they could never escape."

"So, wait …." I looked at him with confusion. "How'd the fox escape?"

"That's the thing. I have no idea. It should be impossible, unless Zeus himself released it."

I shook my head. "There is way more going on here than we thought, isn't there?"

Grover nodded. "I'll bet. Now, all the monsters you mentioned – the fox, Ethon, the Sphinx, the Nemean lion, the hellhounds, all the others – they're all descendants of Echidna. Either her children or her grandchildren."

"You think she called in her kids for reinforcements?"

"Not exactly – what would they reinforce? Why else would she have all her kids come to the camp?"

It suddenly dawned on me what Grover meant. "She's building a monster baby army."

He nodded, confirming my fear. I looked over at Annabeth, still fast asleep. She seemed to be having a nightmare; she was shifting in her sleep more, and every once and a while a sound would escape. I knew whatever insanity had taken over her wasn't gone yet. There was more control now, but it was still there. She probably felt it every second, forcing herself to fight it now that she had gained the willpower to do so.

I began to wonder if this craziness wasn't natural, and if some outside creature or god had had anything to do with it. I found it hard to believe that Annabeth would lose it so easily.

I stood and walked to her bed; Grover got up awkwardly and went back to gathering our things. Annabeth's hair was strewn over her face and the pillow from her tosses and turns. I gently sat next to her on the bed and looked down at her. Her beautiful face was stricken with turbulent fears and worries. I brushed her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear with two fingers, and I suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to kiss her. However, she awoke then, and her gray eyes opened.

"Hey, Wise Girl," I greeted her. "Glad you could join us."

She looked up in surprise and smiled at me, but I could tell she was distracted; I guessed her dream was fresh in her mind.

"Did you sleep well?" I asked.

She sat up. "Yeah, it was okay."

Even I could tell it was a lie.

I turned so I was sitting next to her and wrapped my arm around her shoulders; she leaned into me gratefully and rested her head on my chest.

As I held her more closely and put my other arm around her protectively, I knew I couldn't be without her like that again. I would stop Echidna and make her pay.

I'd make sure of it.

* * *

><p><strong>{<span>DAY NINE<span>}**

Grover and I filled in Annabeth on my dream once we were safely back in the car. I was reluctant to share the details of the monster army, but Grover was right; Annabeth needed to know.

"I guess that's why we didn't get attacked at the hotel, or during the day yesterday," Annabeth noted. "We usually get stomped everywhere we go."

I nodded thoughtfully; there did seem to be a relative lack of near death experiences since I'd escaped. This brought me to another thought. "Do you think it's weird that Echidna is letting us get away? She probably knows we're together and that I'm out. Why hasn't she sent someone to stop us from returning?"

"I think she wants us to make it back to camp," Grover commented from the front seat. I hadn't wanted to drive again, so he and Annabeth took the front and I settled for the backseat. "Knowing her, she probably wants us to watch our friends be attacked."

"I wouldn't be surprised," I added. "So what _do_ we do?"

"Is there much of a choice?" Annabeth asked. "We get back to camp, talk to Chiron, and see what's going on and how we can help. And with this massive monster army on the way, they're going to need all the help they can get."

"We can't stop tonight," I decided. "We have to just keep driving until we get there – we don't have time to waste."

"Dude, I am _not_ driving nonstop for that long," Grover protested.

"We'll take turns driving," Annabeth offered. "One of us will drive, one will stay awake to help with the map or anything else, and one will sleep in the back. We can trade off whenever we stop for gas or something."

Grover and I agreed, and we finally drove for Camp Half-Blood with at least some sort of a plan.

* * *

><p><strong>{<span>NIGHT NINE<span>}**

When Grover had driven for as long as he felt he could with me as his helper, I switched to the driver's seat at our next stop for gas as Grover went to sleep in the back. When I finally had to stop for gas again late that night, it came to be Annabeth's turn to drive. She seemed to be ready, and Grover agreed to keep a close eye on her, so I finally got my turn to rest.

My dream was short and consisted of a single scene, yet I was glad for this. I don't think I could have taken another one.

Clarisse was screaming at Chiron. "Let me get a prophecy!"

"This isn't your fight, Clarisse. Perhaps Percy will consult the Oracle upon his return, but for now –"

"Why can't I just go to Rachel? Percy might not be coming back!"

I made myself a mental reminder to thank Clarisse for her faith in me.

The argument continued for a solid few minutes, mainly because Clarisse just wouldn't give up. In the end, Chiron won, and, disgruntled, Clarisse left.

"Wait!" Chiron called after her. "No one is allowed to leave the dining hall right now!"

"I'm just getting something from my cabin!" she replied obnoxiously.

Chiron grunted and followed her.

She approached her cabin just as he caught up to her. She turned around to look at him. "I can't just get something from my cabin?"

The centaur sighed and nodded for her to enter.

"_Thank_ you," she said sarcastically, and turned again to open the door.

As soon as she did, a muffled scream resounded from inside.

Both centaur and demigod looked up in confusion to see Chris, his mouth gagged with duct tape, his arms bound to his side with rope, and his ankles tied together.

There was a metal hook sticking out from the ceiling, from which about twenty standard rubber bands hung at once; the other ends of the rubber bands were all wrapped through the ropes around his arms. Chris screamed loudly through the tape as he hung from the ceiling like a human chandelier.

This scene didn't last long, however. A second passed before the rubber bands, stretched to their limits, snapped, one first with the rest following quickly, and Chris fell straight from the ceiling to the floor facedown.

He hit with a thud. Clarisse yelped and ran to him.

I looked on in shock. Those rubber bands couldn't have supported a person (especially one as big as Chris Rodriguez) for more than five to ten seconds max.

…Which meant that he had been placed there almost immediately before they had opened the door.

Chiron apparently realized this at the same moment I did, and he bolted to the back of the cabin, searching for a secret exit of some sort. He found one; he pushed against the back wall at various places and before long, a sizable portion of the wall fell backwards onto the ground.

The edges of the wood looked burnt from the outside. It had been cut out like a door.

Chiron raced out through the hole and into the trees beyond. He searched in all directions, running back and forth through the woods.

"Show yourself!" he demanded.

But no one was there.

He was alone.

* * *

><p><strong>I think that was one of the most interesting ways I've ever harmed one character while simultaneously threatening the rest of the characters. That includes anything I've ever written. xDD<strong>

**Hah, well, maybe not. I wrote some weird stuff in elementary school. Seriously. In first grade, I wrote a story about how I woke up one day the size of a germ, and I got out of bed and fell all the way to the floor, and the drop almost killed me. Then I walked all the way across my room (which some reason doesn't take much time at all, which is inconsistent with the long drop thing) and climbed onto a clock for some reason which had fallen onto my floor for some reason. I had fun spinning around on the second hand for a little while. And then (don't ask me how), the clock levitated back up onto its hook on the wall. And then fell back down again. And I fell all the way back to the floor from all the way up there, and I died.**

**I wrote that in first grade. Even then, I was a psychopath.**

**See you later, peeps, if any of you are still reading this thing. xD (Which reminds me - a big thanks to Splashfire for reviewing my last chapter. You were the only one, buddy. xDD)**


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